Q Center

Brennon, Director

Brennon Ham (Brennon/they/any) is originally from Maryland, just outside of DC and Baltimore. Brennon comes from a big and blended family on the east coast. They grew up swimming and playing baseball competitively for 10 years each and now coach swimming for Garfield High School and Lakeridge Swim Club here in Seattle. They currently live on First Hill with their four-legged babies, Frankie and Homer.

Brennon is a queer, bigender, mixed-Latinx, formerly homeless, survivor of violence. These identities and experiences shaped much of their professional and academic pursuits. Over the last 12 years, Brennon has held roles with A Way Home Washington; Seattle Public Schools; The Northwest Network of LGBTQ+ Survivors of Abuse; Lifelong AIDS Alliance; and Queer Youth Space. Brennon received a Masters in Education Policy & Management from Harvard University, completed their undergraduate studies at Case Western Reserve University, and finished a Diversity & Inclusion certificate program at Cornell University. At CWRU, Brennon was the LGBTQ Center’s first student staff person.   

Need to contact Brennon? Please reach out by email to brennonh@uw.edu for support.

Val, Deputy Director

Val Schweigert [pronouns: she/hers, they/them, siya] is a queer, “mixed” Filipinx American and scholar. They seek to center marginal and underrepresented identities through transformative praxis and best serve students by addressing their needs with intersectional approaches. Val currently finds themself on Duwamish lands by way of South Texas (Karankawa and Coahuiltecan territory). Val has lived on the East Coast, specifically the finger lakes of New York (Cayuga Nation, Haudenosaunee) and spent summers working on pre-college programs at the Penn campus in Philadelphia (Lenni-Lenape). They hold a B.A. in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from Wells College and received their M.Ed. in Multicultural Education from the University of Washington in 2017. Val’s research interests include investigating students of color identity construction and development—specifically for mixed identified, transnational students of color— and how that impacts their cultivation of community, sense of ‘belonging’, and navigation of undergraduate experiences at PWIs. Val loves providing direct student services, collaborating on passion projects that enliven the Q’mmunity, and talking about people’s culinary or creative pursuits. They live with their partner and 2 pawpanions, Lumpia and Luna. Connect with me at qval@uw.edu or during my advising hours at https://calendly.com/qval.

Miami Dupree, Assistant Director of Operations

Miami Dupree(she/her) I am originally from Florida. I’ve held residence in North Carolina for the past 10 years, so I’m new to the area and very excited to be in a new environment and part of a new community!

In my previous positions I’ve learned skills such as: supporting conflict resolution in the workplace; communicating effectively while motivating and supporting others; ensuring diversity; cultivating meaningful relationships understanding and accommodating the needs of others.

I enjoy listening to music from all genres, yet my favorites are R&B and classical. I also truly enjoy being outside exploring nature and traveling because it allows me the great opportunity to be able to see and experience new places. Finding myself a good book to get lost in is also one of my treasured pleasures.

I believe that my drive to help others, my passion and my energy is infectious, motivating, and encouraging. My style of advising support is intended to challenge, provoke informed decision-making, guide, and embolden students to grow in the directions that they feel will best serve them and their community. I believe I possess great insight and knowledge of everyday life obstacles and struggles and am confident that I can assist students with clarity and enthusiasm. My approach and investment in community is oriented towards focusing on getting to the heart of what is going on with students and supporting them using resources that are tailored to bolstering the different forms of leadership students wish to pursue.

In advising, coaching, and leadership programming, my goal is to ensure that there is an environment of mutual respect, but also one of accountability and justice. Additionally, the time we have will be wholeheartedly valued, understood, and connected with the realistic yet aspirational expectations concerning the scope of support that is most possible and effective. With advising and coaching within the Leadership Development Hub, I develop specific and measurable strategies with students that influence students to think about their challenges in a critically assessed, transformative, and empowering way.

Joie, Program Manager

Joie Waxler (they/them/theirs) is originally from the unceded lands of the Lenape and Wappinger peoples known as New York, and relocated to the unceded lands of the Duwamish known as Seattle. They hold a Masters of Social Work and Masters of Public Health with a certification in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Washington. Joie is a femme non-binary Jewish queer. They are white, sometimes able-bodied with a side of chronic pain, educated through institutions of higher learning, and learn-ed through community care and generational wisdoms. With a background in sexual and reproductive health and justice that centers marginalized identities, Joie approaches the world and their work grounded in the idea that all bodies are inherently imbued with immutable worth, and are deserving of love, compassion, and value. Joie is delighted to be part of such a vibrant and multi-talented team working to queer our notions of the world.

Lexi, Graduate Program Coordinator

From grassroots demonstrations in her hometown to social justice in her academic pursuits, Lexi (she/her) has been guided through her personal and professional life by a keen awareness of structural inequality and a dedication to mitigating its harms. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, concentrated in inequality and justice, from The Ohio State University in 2022, and she wasted no time putting it to work at her local library. There, supporting the hubs of community activism, preservers of history, and pillars of democracy that are our public libraries, she found the perfect focus for her passion.

At UW, she continues her journey as a Master of Library and Information Science student at the iSchool, and as a Graduate Program Coordinator with the Q Center. She is eager to get involved with UW’s vibrant queer community and is honored by the opportunity to be of service to something so close to her heart.

Cameron, Graduate Program Coordinator

Cameron Yonan (they/them) is a first year MPA Candidate at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Cameron is originally from Hudson, WI and attended undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a degree in Political Science, Public Policy, and History. When not in classes, Cameron enjoys biking, reading, jamming out to Taylor Swift, and spending time with their cat, Peanut.

Cameron is a queer nonbinary person with professional experience in politics, policy, and activism. Cameron has worked for LGBTQ+ nonprofits, served on LGBTQ+ nonprofit boards, ran campaigns, and organized in the community. Cameron hopes to leverage their lived experiences with their professional and academic skills towards a career in LGBTQ+ centered community care.

Stephanie, Policy & Advocacy Intern

Stephanie (she, her) is a first generation Queer Latinx graduate student with humble academic beginnings that include receiving her associate degree at North Seattle College and her bachelor degree at the University of Washington. She is entering her second and final year as a Masters in Public Health graduate student in the Community Oriented Public Health Practice program at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas in a predominantly Latinx community, she speaks Spanish and English. Stephanie moved to Washington state due to her military service and decided to stay after leaving the service in 2012. In an effort to understand and collaborate with communities to strive towards a shared aspiration of empowering and improving community health and wellbeing, these endeavors are informed by her lived experience and embracing the many facets of her identities along with their past and current histories. Stephanie is excited to join the Q Center as the center’s Policy and Advocacy Intern to provide timely, vital and relevant updates on policy and advocacy work for LGBTQ+ students and staff at the University of Washington.

Ruby, Communication and Digital Organizing Specialist

Ruby (she/they) is a senior undergraduate student, currently taking courses in Environmental Studies and Drama. Ruby is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, and engages in many kinds of art, including but not limited to: acting, painting, guitar, violin, playwriting, designing, and their favorite: performing with UW’s improv team, The Collective. She hopes to aid in uplifting the voices of queer and trans folks on campus while continuing to build this beautiful community.

Grayson, Web & Computer Specialist

Grayson aka Connor (he/him) is a senior undergrad majoring in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies with minors in Disability Studies and Japanese. Hailing from Austin, Texas, he is passionate about building up greater access to knowledge and support for LGBTQ+ folks on campus and beyond. Grayson is incredibly invested in media archival, especially since queer history and literature is often ignored or erased. Other interests/passions include but are not limited to: tabletop roleplaying games, video games, media criticism/research, manga, animal shelters/welfare, and sexual health education. While working in the Q Center, Grayson hopes to give y’all the tools and support you need to queer your research, find your passions, and build an expansive and accessible community.

Alexander, Student Engagement Specialist

Alexander (he/him) is a proud Vietnamese American and even prouder Californian. He is an undergraduate senior majoring in Sociology with a minor in Education. Coming from San Jose, California, Alexander is guided by creating and cultivating safe and open spaces for diverse communities. He knows what it is like to not be welcome in certain communities, and strives to ensure no one else has to feel that terrible feeling. He has a great love for the student body at the University of Washington, being the President of the RSO ‘Humans vs Zombies Tag’ as well as holding leadership with other RSOs on campus. When he’s not at the Q Center, you can find him on his on campus radio show with Rainy Dawg, at the hair salon coloring his hair, or building PCs and keyboards. He is always also ready to talk about DnD, animanga, and video games at any given moment. 

Alexander is very excited to help nurture a safe and accepting environment for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, and is looking forward to meeting and helping all of you wonderful people.

N, Operations & Events Specialist

N (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Washington. She is a prospective Informatics major with a focus on Information and Society. Her journey in academia is deeply rooted in her identity as a queer Vietnamese woman. She aims to weave more inclusive and intersectional narratives into the world of technology and data.

N has held leadership roles in student publications and LGBTQ+ affinity clubs. She is excited to contribute to the Q Center’s mission of creating a welcoming haven of community, resources, and education for LGBTQ+ students.

She is from Southeast Seattle and loves to share the vibrant culture of her neighborhood with newcomers to Seattle. Outside of UW, N loves to make fun drinks with her at-home espresso machine, thrift for unique items, and play with her dog.


The Q Center and all of our programming is funded by the Student Services and Activities Fee.